In the handling of large volumes of liquid, specifically, sewage, special problems occur in the pumping which make impossible use of conventional fluid pumps. A modern development has been a return to extreme basics in the form of refinements of the Archimedes screw for lifting the liquids from one level to another. The screw has the advantage that it is of large diameter. The path through it is roomy so that relatively large lumps of solid matter can be carried through it even after the original gate screening at the entrance to the sewage plant. A form of improvement of the Archimedes screw is exemplified in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,830, granted Apr. 26, 1977, for a cone pump, wherein an improvement in internal flight design together with improvements in the pick up and discharging of fluid are shown. In a massive mechanical structure of this type which may run 36, 42 or 48 inches in diameter, or more, the volumes of water handled by weight, create problems of supporting the body of the cylinder and make it behave like a beam. Bearing problems are caused by the weight of the pump itself; it is compounded when it is full of liquid.
It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to address the problem of bearings for the body of a screw type fluid pump and to provide specifically constructed bearings for use in such structure.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.